20 Absolute Best Wrestlers In The World Right Now
12. PAC
The former Neville was finally freed from his WWE shackles in August 2018, and it took little over a month before he'd re-emerged in Dragon Gate, his old Japanese home. PAC has since become one of the most in-demand wrestlers in the world, because of course he has. People love a good 'them vs. us' story, and as one of the most gifted in-ring performers in the sport and a red-hot ticket-mover, it's just great to see the 32-year-old doing what he loves again.
Having reinvented himself as 'The Bastard,' this is not the PAC of old. Noticeably thicker than before, he has become a more well-rounded wrestler who doesn't need to kill himself with high-risk flips and dives every couple of minutes anymore. Becoming a muscle monster hasn't dampened PAC's ring work, though: December's Open The Dream Gate Championship win over Masato Yoshino was perfect in its execution, and a recent Newcastle homecoming with Defiant Wrestling yielded not only an incredible atmosphere, but a fantastic match with the underrated David Starr.
Signing with AEW may expedite PAC's Dragon Gate departure, with the popular Kzy expected to dethrone him in February. Whether he sticks around or not, PAC will keep killing it throughout 2019, compiling a 'Wrestler Of The Year'-calibre body of work in the process.
2018 ranking: n/a.